Bennygman

Thanks Shaun, glad you liked them. The Grob was at 1/60, taken with my girlfriend's Dynax 7D which is well and truly obsolete, but still capable of the odd heroic moment . What you say about 1/80 being too fast for the Breitling jets was interesting. The reason I went to 1/60 was that I assumed the Grob would have a slower approach speed so would need to be slower to blur it more. I would have thought that 1/80 would be compensated by the faster speed of the jet (or maybe it isn't faster?), resulting in the same relative amount of blur. By way of comparison, here's a hawk at 1/100 (but in much worse weather)... Is your Breitling shot side-on? I find that the best blur comes from when they're 'going past your nose'. Steve.

That's a cracking bit of modelling. A fitting tribute indeed. Steve.

Nice, I hadn't noticed the LGb's under the Mirage - another modelling project for the list! Steve.

Those Vulcan+B-52 shots are great - they didn't do that on Saturday. The take-off shot with all the spray is superb too. I assume that was an intentional dump and burn by the Grippen then? He let out a huge ball of flame on Saturday but I thought it was accidental. Obviously not and a great addition to the display. Steve.

Thanks chaps, glad you enjoyed them. A few more from my three days at the show... Kiwi 757 getting airborne... Breitling L-39 in lovely light... Gorgeous Dutch f-16 display scheme... B-52 coming... and going... AAC Apache... The highly co operative Sea King .... Nimrod MR4 Aermacchi's little hot-rod Probably the only time I'll make a Grob look vaguely dynamic... One more for the Vulcan fans. I'd imagine the driver of the leader vehicle got very self conscious about now as he had several hundred grands worth of camera kit pointed at him! Steve.

Hi all it's that time of year again! Had a really good few days at Fairford, and stayed largely dry this time. I had a ticket for Sunday too, but looking at the weather I decided to head for home Sunday morning. Looking at some of the pics on UKAR I think I got it right. Actually I think RIAT may be becoming a one day show these days. On Saturday I was at the crowdline 'til 5 ish then walked around the static and was back at the concert stage by seven. If you just go for the planes, and given good light I think it can be done in one day now. One of the highlights for me was seeing the Navy Merlin landing on Friday, he was angled well over fighting the strong wind which I guess is how they do it at sea? In my minds eye he was at 45 degrees but I'm guessing it was less than that in actuality. Credit must also be given to the pilot of the Rescue sea King (yellow one) that did a little display over the piano keys and gave some great photo ops. The biggest complaint of the weekend was that the breakfast bar in P&V had no eggs Friday morning because security wouldn't let them in! (background checks on the chicken perhaps?) Anyway, a few pics... Harrier departure for the Fly Navy segment... The Reds... Someone else described their display as 'rubbish', I wouldn't go that far but it has changed for the worse in some ways. I used to enjoy the vertical split into Aenid and gypo which they do as a burst now - probably just me TBM 700 'giving it some' Stunning Rafale display, especially Friday in the moist air... The C-27, I don't think he was horizontal for more than a few seconds and just how hard was that knife-edge pass in this? VC-10 looking mighty big Credit where it's due, the Vulcan gang got there act together this weekend... Some 'crazy flying' by the Frecce solo... Bombed up Harrier arriving... A 'Nessun Dorma' moment... My personal highlight- gotta love Phantoms... First time I'd seen the RNZAF 757- pretty impressive for a big-un... Oh, just one more then... Good time, great show - roll on next year! Steve.

Great sky on the balbo shot, and the inverted Jungmann is a stunning image - great stuff! Plenty of sun on Sunday by the looks of it. Steve.

Love that head on taxi shot of the B-25s and the exposure and focus of the formation shot with the P-40 is spot on. Not that there's anything wrong with ther est of 'em either Steve.

Absolutely! to see and to hear - the sound it made when it started up was something else. To my eyes it looked exactly like an FW 190, so the fact it has no history makes no odds to me. If there are no originals left then I'd rather have a replica than nothing at all. It's a bit of a contrast to the Bleriot which I believe has a modern more powerful engine which makes it appear overpowered if Saturday's display is anything to go by. It was almost stationary in the air at some points

Thought I was going to get lynched Saturday morning. Took the Girlfriend along to her first Legends and up 'til 10 am or so it was heavy overcast and drizzle - not giving me a warm and cosy feeling at all. By midday it had broken into high overcast with sun poking through - much better. By mid way through the display it was sunshine all the way, we had a great time and are now sunburned. Great display yesterday, seeing the B-25 tail chase was just amazing as they weren't just flying horizontally but were really throwing them around - looked like they did a simulated strafing run at one point. And the girlfriend? She was sorted the moment seven spits and three Mustangs sat running up in front of us along with the Buchon and '190. Nothing sounds like Legends! I'll post some pics in due corse, but I'm fighting a winning (I think) battle with some corrupt memory cards at the mo'. Steve.

This does all make me very sad You may remember after last years Waddo when I posted some pics of her first display flight and some words on what an amazing an emotional experience it was. Since then the appearance rate must be 50% at best. Sure, complicated machine, hard to maintain, I get all that, but forgot to file the paperwork - are you sh****ng me! Is this organisation intent on destroying every bit of goodwill (and it was enormous) from the public? There seems to be a serious lack of organisation going on here and they've turned what should have been the highlight of the UK and arguably European circuit into an almighty cluster****. I would strongly advise that no one bases a travel decision on the appearance of this one item. If a show appeals then go and enjoy yourself and if the Vulcan appears it's gravy, but don't get your hopes up. Very sad. Steve.

Thanks chaps, I was really pleased with the Meteor shot, but it was well jammy. How often have you read an article where a photographer says " I was there all day, then just as I was leaving..." and thought yeah, right. But in this case it was true. After the show I dumped most of the kit in the car then went back in to see what I could find. Just as I got to the flightline the Meatbox started up and departed. I assumed he was off home, but he returned after about ten minutes - air test maybe. Right place, right time, huge slice of luck - it's been the basis of my photography for years!

Having skipped this one last year I decided to brave the A1 and M25 roadworks and make a return visit. A 5:15 departure saw me drive straight in at 7:45 (i was glad to see they've reversed the car park so that the early arrivals now get the shortest walk!) The weather was a bit touch and go, but at least it came out for the Sea Vixen! Thanks to the BBMF for taking so long to land so the clouds could clear. A bit of a mixture here, but it gives the idea of the day. On the way out I saw what I assmue was the Airfix Canberra in 1/48. It's huge, 1/72 for me I think. the star of the day in a much more sensible colour scheme... Fly Navy! Rolls Royce Spit' The spirit of Kemble... And something more modern... And the ever photogenic Swift Glider team... Roll on Legends! Steve.

Yes, it's something I've been playing with on and off for a while now. It doesn't suit every shot and if over-used it can produce some really awful results. Problem is, over-used is very subjective hence my comment about loving or hating it. On a scale of 1-10 this is about a 6 or 7 in terms of how artificial looking it is - too much and it looks like an illustration rather than a photo, which isn't necessarily a bad thing depending on what you're aiming for. Contrast this one which is more towards the 'illustration' side of things. Jase: drop me a PM with an e-mail address and the desktop size (in pixels) and I'll fire 'em over. Ollie: I did but didn't keep them, I tend to use that time to practice slow shutter pans - suffice to say it needs plenty more practice Thanks for your feedback guys, Steve. [reason for edit - spelling as bad as ever]

Hi all, Hopefully I can avoid too much duplication of Mark's excellent thread elsewhere. A good day out, though the size of the crowd seems to have caught them out on the traffic front. First time I'd seen the Southern Martlet in action... A nice visiting Brantly (yes, I admit I had to look that up) Richard Shuttleworth's private Moth. They came dangerously close to ground-looping this about five secs after this shot when I assume a gust caught it and tipped the Starboard wing a bit low. And his Alfa F1 car in which he won the 1935 Donnington GP. A few more from the home teams... And a couple of Peter Teichmann's P-40, still painted up from it's role in a recent film about the Tuskegee Airmen Going over the top of a barrel role... And finally, you'll either love or hate this, but an HDR shot of the same machine a little later when there was some colour in the sky. In all, a good day out - I've still to have a bad one there. Steve.

Ah yes, the Begian f-16 - this gives some idea of what he was up against... And what we were up against after the drains exploded! This was one of my favorites from the day, taken one handed from under a large umbrella... My car still wears the mud from the car park as a badge of honour! I'd do it all again in a flash to see that F-22 display again though...I'll never forget the pitch up after take off and everyone around going **** me, more or less simultaneously [edit: got me planes mixed up - brain still waterlogged] Steve.

Brilliant Jen! I got one of those from Vince at Waddo a couple of years ago, but mine will be finished per the box art. However, I'm about to start painting a Classic Airframes TA-4J which is in a very similar scheme to yours, courtesy of Afterburner Decals. I can only pray for as successful an outcome. Steve.

With regards to Xtracrylics varnish finishes... I believe Mr Phil Flory mentioned in one of his videos that the satin coat can go from semi gloss to dead flat depending on how far away you spray from. The further away, the flatter the finish. I assume it dries on the way and ends up rougher, therefore flatter due to more uneven reflection (maybe ) My own experience backs this up to some extent. Maybe it's also true of the flat coat? Steve.

Interesting. Hope the Tiger has the Round/Shark nose options included. I just bought a couple of sets of Aggressor decals from Two bobs ('Blue/Grey Saints' and 'Desert Cats') who are knocking them out dirt cheap at the moment. I think both sets including postage from the US cost less than one set from Hannants (not a dig at Hannants - Bob has them on clearance). They were even considerate enough to give the decals a short trip to Hawaii before they came back to me Steve.

Nice, I've just closed the fuselage on the CA kit, which is lovely and fits better than I'd been led to expect, but it's still a lot of work (for my abilities). A Hase' one would be a much better bet to use up some of the other schemes on my Fightertown decals, as I'm not sure I'd like to go through the process again with the CA kit. Good news, Steve.

How about paint the suit the pinstripe colour, mask with thin strips of Tamiya tape or even better the pre-cut stuff like that from Jammy Dog, then spray the suit colour over the top? Haven't got one yet, but this was how I'd thought of doing it. Not sure how practical it is in the flesh though. Steve. PS Tardis looks great, I personally don' t think the drybrushing is overdone

Nice work Paul. Are you aware of these for when you get to the figures? http://www.culttvmanshop.com/shop/product....=264&page=3 Forgot it included window masks or I'd have mentioned it earlier Steve.

Can't remember exactly what I posted (can't see them from work), but there's some Puma pics here... http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=349 Steve.

I'll second that. Wouldn't even consider cyano now for etch that doesn't need any structural strength (dries clear too). Steve.

That's just a bit gorgeous - cracking job! Steve.